U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,199 discloses a disposable bib tray produced from a single flat piece of stiff sheet material such as paper. The bib tray design requires material of a certain stiffness, and films made from commonly used materials such as polyethylene and polyvinylchloride are unsuitable. As a result, this bib tray cannot be easily packaged in roll form. Moreover, assembly of such a bib tray requires cutting and folding, making it inconvenient to use and relatively expensive.
Disposable protective bibs having pockets for catching falling and spilled food are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,995,321 and 3,945,048. However, the pockets may not adequately protect the lap area from spills when the wearer is in a variety of sitting or semi-prone positions, and provide only a limited amount of surface area to catch and hold spills.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for an inexpensive, one piece, disposable bib that can be conveniently packaged on a roll and that can protect the lap area from spills, especially when worn by an elderly or infirmed adult in a health care center, nursing home, or restaurant.